Sandy Leaves N.Y. South Shore More Vulnerable

Breaches ripped through barrier islands by superstorm Sandy's winds and waves have left the South Shore vulnerable to more flooding by a predicted nor'easter.
"There is nothing to prevent the waves coming over -- it's pure flat sand," Mastic Beach Mayor Bill Biondi said Sunday. "We have nothing to stop the water from coming here."
The coastal village relies on protections from Fire Island near Smith Point County Beach, but Sandy cut a breach in the sand that would allow the nor'easter's waves and winds to reach Mastic Beach unabated. Already, 1,000 of the community's 5,800 homes were swamped when waters pushed by Sandy rushed over Fire Island and into Great South Bay.

AP Photo/Frank Eltman

A Magnolia Avenue posted a sign asks drivers to move down the street with caution before floodwaters began to recede on Oct. 31 in Mastic Beach, N.Y.

Sunday, forecasters said a low-pressure front could strengthen and move over the region's wounded coastline Wednesday as a powerful nor'easter.

Sustained winds of 20 mph to 35 mph and gusts between 40 mph and 60 mph are projected, with the higher blasts hitting coastal areas. One to 2 inches of rain is also expected, National Weather Service meteorologist Joey Picca said.
Communities near the Fire Island breaches could be in trouble, as well as those areas where waves washed over dunes, knocking them down.
"A rise in the level of water might have a little more of an impact that it would have before Sandy," Picca said. "We lost some of the protections that might have existed with sandbars, berms, jetties, what have you."

Sandy Leaves N.Y. South Shore More Vulnerable